SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 28- Remember

"Dante, do you really have this much trouble seeing my motives? It's not like they have ever changed." I hear the twisted man, Iker, say.

"So, I'm guessing you wanted to take the rest of us out and keep those two for yourself." A girl states.

"Clever, clever. But there's always more to it than that dearie." He says twistedly.

"What else were you planning?" I hear my mother ask, trying to get his attention off of her friend.

"My sweet Hexa, I just wanted everyone else to pay for what they had done defying me." He explains "The plans were already in motion, unfortunately, I didn't accomplish all of my goals."

When I wake up, I gasp for air, but my lungs feel as though they are rejecting it. I quickly sit up and start to choke before I can finally breathe again. Pearl and Aria immediately jumped up and come to me, trying to help me calm down. I never physically met the man who murdered me, but hearing that voice in my head always makes me feel sick to my stomach.

"Are you okay?" Aria asks worriedly as I try to take deep breaths.

"I'm fine, I just had another nightmare." I wheeze as I grip my chest.

"What was it about, you're still shaking," Pearl asks as she holds my hand.

"I... it was about Iker, I mean Gael." I say, trying to focus, "That bastard was a living nightmare, and his shit won't get out of my head." I sigh, trying not to cry.

"What did he do in this one?" Aria asks nervously.

"He was talking to everyone after they captured him," I explain, squinting and closing my eyes, trying to see clearly. "I'm not sure why that came up, I haven't heard that one before." I sigh.

"You don't think that what's going on has anything to do with him, does it?" Pearl asks nervously.

"No, he's gone for good, my mother made sure of that." I state as I finally start to calm down "God, my head is killing me."

"Just relax, we have to leave for school soon," Pearl states as she sits on the edge of my bed.

"I don't know about you, but I can't sit in class all day," Aria states. Suddenly, we hear someone knock on the door. When it opens, Nanea pokes her head in.

"Girls, I need to talk to you." she says worriedly as she comes in, suddenly noticing that I seem off "Nightmares?" she asks, already knowing the answer before I have the chance to nod.

"What's going on?" Pearl asks nervously. Nanea sighs as she goes over to sit on Pearl's bed.

"School is canceled today. I spoke to Roxie last night, things are progressing faster than we assumed they would." she explains worriedly "Two girls have been reported missing. First, a young woman named Artemis apparently disappeared a week ago. Now, the parents of a girl from your class reported their daughter being gone as of three days ago." she states cautiously. Suddenly, my heart drops.

"Jewel?" I ask, knowing that she was the only one not there yesterday. Nanea nods solemnly, confirming my suspicion.

"What the hell..." Pearl says in disbelief "That's crazy, that's just crazy."

"I hate her guts, but... she's gone?" Aria asks, looking like her brain is processing everything a mile a minute.

"I'm sorry, but we agreed that we would keep you in the loop." Nanea explains "Look, your father doesn't want you all to just stay indoors until this is solved. But, if you are going to leave the house, don't go alone. It's too risky, do you understand?" she asks, we all nod our heads.

"Wait a minute, did you say Artemis?" I ask, knowing that I've heard that name somewhere.

"Yes, why?" Nanea asks, concerned.

"I've met her before," I begin "Well, actually no, I've seen her before. It was about a month ago, Magnus and I were walking through the jungle and we saw her running from someone who claimed to be a friend of hers. She was in tears and seemed terrified, but he said that he had said something stupid to upset her." I explain.

"Wait, what did the guy look like?" Nanea asks anxiously "Do you remember his name?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it started with an 'S'." I explain as I try to remember "He was tall, kinda skinny, and I think he had brunette hair."

"What the hell, do you think that's the guy kidnapping people?" Aria asks nervously.

"Maybe," Nanea states "I doubt that that was just a coincidence."

"Holy crap," Pearl states in shock at everything.

"Was that all you remember?" Nanea asks curiously.

"Unfortunately, yes." I sigh "Magnus was with me, maybe he caught a detail I didn't see or maybe he remembers his name." I explain hopefully.

"Alright," Nanea says as she stands up "Look, you need to talk to Magnus. If you trust him, I do too. This is too important to just hide from him at this point, especially if he might know something helpful," she explains.

"What the hell do you want me to do?" I ask nervously, "That's a lot to lay on a person all at once."

"Breeze, I'm not asking. I hate to say it, but this could be a matter of life or death for those girls. Talk to him today." she explains bluntly. As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. Jewel is an awful person, but she doesn't just deserve to die at the hands of some psychopath. I don't know Artemis, but I'm guessing she's innocent in all of this.

"Fine, I'll do it." I sigh.

"Good." Nanea states "Girls, get ready and walk her to his house. Once she's with him, stick together on your way back. Stay around people, okay?" she asks worriedly.

"Got it," Aria states as she stands up and starts going through her clothes, finding something to wear. Nanea gets up and starts towards the door, pausing for a moment and turning back to us.

"Breeze?" she asks as I turn to look at her "Good luck."